The Shah Abbas Mosque — also known as the Juma (Friday) Mosque — is the most beautiful building in Ganca. Built in the early seventeenth century on the orders of the Safavid Shah Abbas I, it is a classic of the Persian mosque tradition transplanted to the Caucasus: a large rectangular courtyard flanked by two tall minarets, with a domed prayer hall decorated in intricate blue and turquoise ceramic tiles.
The mosque sits in a park south of the main square, surrounded by mature trees that frame the minarets to good effect. The interior can be visited during non-prayer hours. The adjacent baths — the Chokak Hamam — are almost as old and are worth a look for their domed roofline alone, though the building is no longer in use. This is the essential stop in Ganca.